Rex Grossman decided Saturday to leave Florida for the NFL, a year to the day after his old coach, Steve Spurrier, made the same move.
The junior quarterback’s departure wasn’t as big a shock as Spurrier’s. But after mulling it over for weeks, Grossman decided going pro was his best option.
“It was a very difficult decision for me because I love being a Gator and the whole program has been so good to me,” said Grossman, who leaves with 9,164 yards passing, No. 3 on the career list at Florida. He joins defensive lineman Ian Scott as the second Florida underclassman to announce for the NFL draft.
The consensus among NFL scouts is that despite his subpar season, Grossman was not damaged too badly and should be picked no lower than the third round of the April draft.
– South Alabama shelved plans to start a football program because of poor ticket sales, resulting in only 2,100 during an eight-month campaign. “I really thought the community would step forward, but it just wasn’t there,” athletic director Joe Gottfried said.
– Eighteen Alaska-Anchorage athletes were suspended and will miss a combined 60 competitions for breaking NCAA rules by improperly acquiring $2,500 worth of books at the school bookstore. The NCAA allows schools to buy books for athletes, but only books required for classes they are taking.
